Stop work order on Wendy’s site

You would think that someone who is paid to put up buildings would have a clue.
On Friday, October 26, community activist Mike Sidell alerted the local Community Board (CB8) and the media that a construction site on the land bordered by Kissena Boulevard, Parsons Boulevard and 73rd Avenue in Kew Gardens Hills was the scene of work without a permit.
The Queens Courier went to the site later in the day and found work progressing behind a construction fence that did have two permits, one for demolition of the building (a Wendy’s restaurant) which had occupied the site and another for the fence itself.
The problem is that the Department of Buildings (DOB) requires that permits be “prominently displayed” at the front of a construction site. The permits were issued for work at “73-02 Parsons Boulevard” but they were mounted on the fence along 73rd Avenue.
What was also found was a small hole in the fence, through which several pictures were taken of workers floating a concrete slab at the bottom of a steep-sided, deep excavation with no visible “shoring” to hold back the earth.
Construction safety experts acknowledge that excavation collapses are one of the leading causes of death or severe injury to construction workers. In New York City, any excavation more than four feet deep must either be at a 45 degree angle or “shored up.”
CB8 District Manager Marie Adam-Ovide confirmed receiving the alert and said that she had forwarded a complaint to the DOB. “I asked them to inspect the site,” she said, “but it’s Friday afternoon and they may not get to it right away.
Late Friday afternoon, it was confirmed that DOB was in receipt of the complaint. A spokesperson for DOB said that he hoped to get an inspector to the site “soon.” In the interest of safety, a copy of one of the photographs was emailed to him at DOB.
By 5 p.m. on Monday, October 29, the site had been inspected, and a “Stop Work Order” was issued, along with numerous violations.
The city inspector said that the hole in which the men were working was 14 feet deep. He also said that there were no plans on the site, no sign naming the builder and that the work was being done without permits.
There was a sign on the construction fence along Kissena Boulevard, identifying World Class Demo as the contractor. The sign was also displaying a large packet of DOB “Notice of Violation and Hearing” forms which had been taped on it some time before.
When contacted, “Joe” of World Class Demo was astounded. “No way- I just did the demolition at that site and I was signed-off on that job months ago” he said, adding, “I have to get over there and take my sign down.”
The company in charge of building on the site is Unicorp National Development, of Orlando, Florida. When contacted, Unicorp said that the work was being done by a local person, Roman Gorfinkel. They could only provide a cell phone number.
Numerous messages were left on Gorfinkel’s phone. None were returned as of press time.
According to city records, the property is owned by Dr. Payam Toobian, who listed his address as 115-02 Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills. When contacted, Toobian acknowledged that he owned the property, but it was leased. Toobian did not respond to a request to name the lease holder as of press time.
City records also show that Toobian’s address is a commercial building - with six open violations, and a “Stop Work Order” of its own.
A supervisor for the DOB noted that given the nature of the violations at the Kissena Boulevard site, it would be “quite a while” before construction resumed.
However, one bit of work had been done. They fixed the hole in the fence.